Performance analysis of the virtual sound barrier system with a diffracting sphere

Since a practical virtual sound barrier (VSB) system has to be implemented surrounding a human’s head, the effects of such a diffracting sphere on the performance of the system are considered in this paper. It is found that the performance of the VSB system with a diffracting sphere might be improved or decreased depending on the size of the zone surrounded by the error sensors and the noise frequency, and the noise reduction distribution around the sphere tends to be uniform due to the diffraction of the sphere. Numerical simulations show that the tendency of the control performance with respect to the configuration of the system with a diffracting sphere is similar to that without the sphere. The diffracting sphere might move in the quiet zone of the VSB system, and the performance decreases with the increase of the distance between the sphere and the center of the system. However, the noise reduction level can remain more than 10 dB even when the sphere is near the border of the quiet zone. Experiments with a 16-channel cylindrical VSB system in a normal room validate the above conclusions.